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Jennifer D. Bokal

Teoksen The Gladiator's Mistress tekijä

16 teosta 60 jäsentä 10 arvostelua

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Overall a good book to read if you love romance. It is very similar to other harlequin books. I would recomend!!
 
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AshleyPelletier | 1 muu arvostelu | Apr 19, 2023 |
I enjoyed the suspense of this book and the opening moves of the romance between Gavin and Jacqui. Jacqui is a wildlife biologist who gets an anonymous phone call saying that the wild mustang herd in Blue Larkspur is in trouble. Though she should pass that information on to the coworker who covers that area, she is reluctant to do so before checking it out herself. Especially since that coworker, who is also her ex-boyfriend, just screwed her over with their boss. When she finds the herd, she sees indications that her tipster is correct. Unfortunately, someone runs her off the road on her way back to town.

Gavin is a true crime podcaster who plans to do a series on his father's crimes and has returned home to Blue Larkspur to prepare for it. His eleven siblings are unhappy with his plans, not just because of the memories it will stir up. They have one family enemy they are trying to get back in prison after he was mistakenly released, and Gavin's plans could make that more difficult. If he can't do the series he wants to do, he needs to find something to take its place.

Gavin spots Jacqui on the side of the road and rescues her. She has quite the fan-girl moment when she recognizes Gavin, which makes him feel good. She tells him about what she found, and after thinking about it overnight, he realizes it could be his next story. The two agree to work together to find out the truth about the threat to the mustangs. I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other. I liked how easily they could talk to each other and share things they don't usually discuss. Gavin has family issues from an incident when he was a child and often feels out of place with his siblings. I liked how Jacqui listened to him and subtly encouraged him to look at things differently, resulting in some mending of fences and the likelihood of more.

At the same time, Jacqui is drawn to men who appear to need fixing in some way. Previous relationships have left her feeling used, unappreciated, and reluctant to risk her heart again. She's wondering if Gavin falls into that category. I liked how she supported him at the family gathering. I loved how the Colton clan pulled her into their circle and her enjoyment of being part of it. I liked how Gavin and Jacqui grew closer by the end of the book wanting to see more of each other. Since the entire book takes place over one weekend, I was glad to see no premature declarations of love, just an interest in seeing where their relationship might go. There was a revelation that caught me by surprise, as I wouldn't have guessed it, and it didn't appear to be an issue with them.

The suspense of the story was good and kept my interest. I wanted to see how it would turn out. That's not to say I didn't have a few raised eyebrow moments. First of all, the first bad guy, Henry Rollins, was stupid. Instead of leaving an anonymous tip directly with the police about the upcoming theft of the horses, he called Jacqui, expecting her to call the cops. Instead, she checked it out herself first. It made some sense that Jacqui would want to be sure it was true before doing anything about it.

I enjoyed seeing Jacqui and Gavin use logic to identify the tipster, though their surveillance plans could have been better thought out. The fire scene was intense, and they were lucky it wasn't worse. The tension ramped up when Jacqui's hotel room was broken into, and the police chief's disapproval hit home. The final confrontation was a nail-biter when Gavin and Jacqui were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I liked the reality that they didn't escape unscathed, though it did have a satisfactory resolution.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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scoutmomskf | Jan 30, 2023 |
Good book. Things are heating up in Grave Gulch. The police department is throwing everything it has at bringing in the department's forensics specialist, whose manipulation of evidence put so many innocent people behind bars and let others like serial killer Len Davison go free. They also want to get Davison back behind bars and stop his killing spree. Meanwhile, the town's growing distrust of the GGPD frustrates the officers who do their best to protect those under their care, especially Police Chief Melissa Colton and the other Coltons on the force.

As the book opens, Grace, a rookie cop and youngest of the Colton family, is out on patrol when she spots a person acting suspiciously and pursues him. When he draws a weapon on her, she is forced to defend herself. But when backup arrives and the suspect is taken into custody, the gun is nowhere to be found. Because she discharged her weapon, Grace is suspended while the incident is investigated, and Internal Affairs is called in to do the investigation.

Unfortunately, Internal Affairs departments are often mistrusted, and Grace's family members warn her to be careful what she says. Even though Camden Kingsley has an excellent reputation for integrity in his investigations, he is still from IA. He impressed me with his determination to find the truth, even though others pressured him for a quick resolution. Camden's history shows he has a solid motivation to treat each case fairly, and this one is no exception. However, he didn't expect the attraction and feelings of protectiveness he felt toward this subject.

I enjoyed watching both the mystery and the romance develop. The sparks between Camden and Grace are evident from the start, as is their desire to ignore them. Camden knows that getting involved with the subject of his investigation would affect his objectivity. Grace has been warned about IA investigators' willingness to do anything to trip up the people they investigate. But Grace instinctively feels that she can trust Camden, and he quickly recognizes her innocence. I loved watching them work together while maintaining their professional distance, but their connection was too strong. There are some terrific scenes of them together. I liked how Grace stood up for Camden when she took him to the family party, and the interaction between them on the terrace that night was intense. I loved Camden's belief in Grace, her innocence, and her professional abilities. Their relationship moves along quite well despite everything that says they should stay away from each other. Then Camden makes a grand gesture that doesn't go the way he envisioned, creating a bit of a bump in their road. But Camden is there when she needs him, and a life-threatening situation shows both the depth of their feelings. I liked the ending and hope to see more of them in the final books of the series.

The suspense of the story was well done. We see the situation through Grace's eyes and what she is confident she saw. The trouble comes when the two witnesses flee the scene and can't be found. Neither can the gun Grace knows the perp had, which puts her in a bad situation. All of the Coltons expect trouble from the IA officer. Grace got lucky with Camden, who is honest to the bone. The suspense was a slow build as Grace and Camden worked together to uncover the truth. A few included scenes with the missing witnesses allow the reader to see things that Grace and Camden don't know about, which increased my investment in the story. I loved the plan to draw out the witnesses and was glued to the pages to see if it worked. An unexpected twist put Grace in danger. The final confrontation was a nail-biter that kept me hooked until it was over.

The series storyline of Randall Bowe (forensics guy) and the serial killer advanced somewhat. The good guys get outside help to track down Bowe, and I can't wait to see how that works out. The conflict between the town and the police continues as the GGPD deals with the fallout from the forensics debacle and some things that have happened since then. A twist I never saw coming involved the police chief, and I look forward to seeing the effects of that event.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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scoutmomskf | Feb 12, 2022 |
Good book. It opens where the first book lets off. The escaped serial killer, Darcy, was rescued by a man who then kept her prisoner. The opening scenes show the grisly way that she escaped that captivity.

We then get to meet both Liam and Holly. Liam is a professional tracker who had to realign his priorities. With his daughter's mother deployed for a year, Liam now has full custody of his daughter, Sophie. That means he needs a position with regular hours to keep him close to home, so he accepts a job with Rocky Mountain Justice. His primary task is to attempt to track Darcy in the forest where she disappeared. On his first day, he runs late because of trying to get Sophie to her first day at school. There he meets the teacher and owner, Holly.

Holly is having a bad day. She is behind on the school's mortgage payments, and the bank is calling in their loan. They have a buyer for the school. She hopes to convince the bank to give her more time, which requires an evening meeting with the banker. She must be on time, but her newest student's father is late picking her up, so Holly misses her meeting. To say that she is angry at Liam would be putting it mildly. She doesn't care what the circumstances are.

I liked the development of the relationship between Holly and Liam. Both of them have traumatic events in their pasts that affect their views on relationships. Liam believes he is responsible for his cousin's death. That caused him to build walls around his heart so that he doesn't get that close to anyone again. He also prefers to work alone rather than risk someone else's life. Holly was involved in a tragic car accident as a teenager. She, too, feels responsible, but she copes by trying to take care of everyone. After their first meeting, neither of them can stop thinking about the other. There are sparks between them that continue to grow as Holly finds herself more involved in Liam's life. I liked how she bonded with little Sophie and how that bond brought her closer to Liam. As they work together to find Darcy, the attraction between them burns hotter, and their feelings for each other grow stronger. But both of them have trouble letting go of their pasts and believing that they deserve love. It takes a nearly tragic situation for them to face their fears and embrace a future together.

The suspense of the story was great. The previous book ended with Darcy's disappearance, and this one picks up where that left off. The intensity is high from the start, as the RMJ folks briefly have Darcy in their sights, but she gets away. They bring in Holly, who has some interesting insights about Darcy. When clues lead the team to believe that Darcy is hiding at a local resort, Liam and Holly go undercover to search for her. Having the point of view of both Darcy and the Liam and Holly team made the intensity so much stronger. I got chills following Darcy's activities as she tried to escape. There were several close calls as she and Liam or Holly encountered each other without recognition until the connection was finally made. I was glued to the pages as Darcy attacked Holly and kidnapped Sophie, desperate to escape. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as they hoped Holly's insights about Darcy would allow them to reach Sophie before it was too late. The last pages serve as a lead-in to the next book, as it's evident that Darcy is more devious than anyone expects.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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scoutmomskf | 1 muu arvostelu | Nov 26, 2020 |

Tilastot

Teokset
16
Jäseniä
60
Suosituimmuussija
#277,520
Arvio (tähdet)
4.2
Kirja-arvosteluja
10
ISBN:t
37
Kielet
1

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